Subletting but have keep one of our name's on the lease. 3 months left, safe? what could happen? (apartment, tenant)
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Okay, me and my roommate are subletting our apartment in downtown LA. There's only about 3 months left on it. The problem is that the building says only says that we can exchange only one of the names on the lease. The deposit is not really a problem as it's only 300/person, and I will get that from the new tenants.
My question is if I keep my name on the lease, what am I risking? and I'll make sure they'll get insurance for the place.
I don't know CA's landlord/tenant laws, so this is only general advice.
But you're probably risking a lot. What happens if, say, the remaining tenant(s) refuses to pay rent and disappears? What happens if they invite a guest over and said guest damages the apartment? What happens if there's contested damage to the apartment (say an electrical fire; you blame the wiring, while your landlord blames your microwave)? Depending on circumstances, you may be found wholly or partly responsible, even though you don't live there.
Having your name on the lease is basically a guarantee on the lease. You are swearing that you will see to it that all terms of the lease are enforced and that all rent is paid.
Being on a lease while you aren't living there sounds like a terrible idea.
And only swapping out one name at a time sounds pretty ridiculous, too. Then again, I've never been in a sublease, and I've never lived in CA, so maybe this is common.
Since we've had a tenant completely trash a unit in 6 weeks (had to re-replace the brand new carpet and repaint the 6 week old paint, on top of the other $3000 worth of repairs), I don't think there is such a thing as "safe".
I'm thinking about finding the best people I can, and keeping the insurance which I only pay about $30/month. I was told it covers damages, fire, etc, and I will also make sure they have their own insurance too. The good thing is that it's a very popular building so if one of the tenants decides to leave early I could easily rent it out for a month or two.
I know this may sound crazy, but since my name will remain on the lease and if one of the tenants don't pay, they'll be known as a stranger to the building. But the thing is that one new person has to go on the lease, as my roommate is being taken off. So if that person doesn't pay I might be in trouble. I have to ask of I would be responsible for only half the rent, or if we're both responsible for all the rent..
Would appreciate more advice and suggestions!
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